MIAMI, FL â€“ March 18, 2015 â€“ (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – The first annual Tecla Awards were held last night at the JW Marriott rooftop in Downtown Miami during Hispanicize, the largest U.S. Hispanic marketing, media and entertainment industries event in the nation. Presented by Toyota and also sponsored by Univision, the awards were created to showcase the increasingly sophisticated and impressive work that Latino bloggers, micro-bloggers, journalists, brands and agencies are executing in the digital multicultural space.

The evening included a poolside reception, a red carpet VIP welcome and performances by musical talent Chino y Nacho as well as Mr. Pauer, to name a few highlights.

â€œI am confident that the Tecla Awards will raise the bar for this industry and set the standard for excellence for years to come,â€ said Hispanicize Event founder and creative director Manny Ruiz.

After careful deliberation amongst a panel of 30 judges from major U.S. Hispanic brands, agencies and digital influencers, the winners were selected across 26 categories; 19 devoted to Latino bloggers, vloggers and journalists and seven focused on excellence in Hispanic marketing and media.

About Hispanicize 2015 Now in its sixth year, Hispanicize 2015 Week (www.HispanicizeEvent.com) (#Hispz15) is the iconic, largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in journalism, blogging, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship.

Co-chaired by Facebook’s U.S. Hispanic Head of Sales Christian Martinez and award-winning actor Luis GuzmÃ¡n, Hispanicize 2015 is a production of the Hispanicize companies that include the Latina Mom Bloggers network, Being Latino, Hispanicize Wire and the Hispanic PR Blog, Hispanicize 2015 is expected to gather more than 2,100 of the nation’s most influential Latino professionals from the industries of blogging, journalism, music, marketing, film and business over five days. The event will take place in downtown Miami March 16-20, 2015.

The Hispanicize event is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books and more, targeting Latinos in the U.S. and/or Puerto Rico.

Hispanicize 2015 is a partnership of the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), Hispanicize and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).